Junction
by Michael2
Summary: A device has the possibility of reuniting Colin with his friends
1. Stoned

"It is time."  
  
I looked from my cell where I had spent the past week or so, and saw the guard and a priest. This was it. This was really happening. My watch told me I still had a few days left here. But I would be dead by then.  
  
They took me out of the cell and marched me down a hallway. I was then put into a white Dodge Caravan and I felt it move.  
  
Here I was. I was about to be executed for a crime my duplicate committed.  
  
I arrived on this world about ten days ago. I learned that America is ruled by a theocracy, and its head of state was called the Prime Oracle. On this world, homosexual intercourse was a crime punishable by death. And the preferred method of execution is stoning. And I am not talking about oversdosing on marijuana, but having stones thrown at me.  
  
Apparently, queers meet in these secret clubs to do each other. There was a raid by the police on one of these clubs, and my duplicate got away. But he was positively identified. the police just happened to catch me instead.   
  
during the trial, I saw a videotape of my duplicate engaging in homosexual acts. I can not imagine any version of myself doing another man, but there it was, right on that Toshiba screen!  
  
I tried to pursue every legal means to at least delay my execution until the slide, but to no avail. The execution is happening as scheduled. I prayed to God to deliver me from this world, preferably alive.  
  
"Confess your sins, and make your peace with God," said the priest.  
  
"I do not think God has abandoned me," I said. "I have faith. He won't leave me to die in this place."  
  
After a long ride, I heard the van's engine shut off. The doors were opened and the guards let me out. I was taken to this place where there were a lot of stones laying around. I guess this is where queers and adulterers were stoned to death. there was already a huge crowd of people. Some of them carried signs reading "God Hates Fags", "No Tears for Queers", and "Fags Burn in Hell".  
  
"Hello, everyone," said the executioner. "My name is Fred Phelps. I was been duly appointed by the Prime Oracle to carry out the execution as demanded by God. He demanded that if a man lie with another man as with a woman, they both have committed an abomination, they shall surely be put to death, their own blood is upon them."  
  
I remembered last month when I got mixed up with extremist Christians, and realized that their kind were in control in this place and time.   
  
There was a whole crowd of people standing near the stones. They were going to stone me.  
  
This was it. I spent over a year traveling to parallel universes in search of my birthplace, and it ends here in this stone pit.  
  
"Colin Mallory, you have been condemned to death for abominating with aniother man," said Phelps. "Do you have any last words."  
  
"God has not abandoned me," I said.  
  
"May He have mercy on your soul."  
  
Phelps picked up a huge rock, and then flung it at me. I felt its impact on my chest.  
  
And the world disappeared.  
  
I saw a bright light, brighter than I have ever seen.   
  
"God," I said. "I'm home."  
  
I was hurting in my chest. I surely could not be in Heaven. Was I in Hell? I would expect to hear flame and to be tormented by this dimension's version of the Devil. I looked around and saw a room with white walls, a white tiled floor. There was a television in the room. I was laying on a bed.  
  
Some lady in a white garment came in. I saw she was a nurse.   
  
"You're awake," she said. "I'll go get the doctor."  
  
Pretty soon, another lady in a white coat appeared; she was a doctor.  
  
"Some kids found you in an alley," she said. "An ambulance brought you here. Your ribs were broken."  
  
I touched my chest. It still hurt a lot.  
  
Why was I brought here? Why would I be brought to a hospital if they wanted to kill me?  
  
I then looked at my watch, which was still on my wrist. I then saw the time.  
  
I had over two weeks here. I slid. I slid before my time. I do not know how, but I was grateful, even if my ribs were broken.  
  
"What happened?" asked the doctor.  
  
"A crowd threw rocks at me," I said.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"They mistook me for a queer."  
  
I turned on the television, hoping to gain some information on this world. There was a news report about a President Jeff Williams, concerning his policy in Switzerland. There was ice hockey on another channel.  
  
"Am I well enough to go?" I asked.  
  
"What is your name?" she asked.  
  
"My name is Colin Mallory."  
  
Fortunately, the hospital I was staying in had cable, so I was able to watch MTV. There was some bottled water for me to drink.   
  
Then some guy in a suit came in. He identified himself as Detective Xylo from the Fresno Police Department. I told him my name.  
  
"What were you doing here in Fresno?" he asked.  
  
"I travel around a lot," I said. "I'm trying to find my place in this world."  
  
"And who attacked you?" asked the detective.  
  
"There was a crowd," I said. "They mistook me for a queer. they threw stones at me. I found myself here in this hospital."  
  
"Did you know your assailants?"  
  
"No, I did not. I did not even get a good look at them."  
  
"Well, Mr. Mallory, if you get any more information, please call me. Here is my card."  
  
I took his card. I decided to watch the news.   
  
Then I saw him. I saw Fred Phelps. He was leading this picket with people carrying signs reading "God Hates Fags", "No Tears for Queers", "Fags Burn in Hell", and "AIDS Cures Fags". His duplicate in the previous world was my executioner.  
  
Coincidence is common to those who slide to many parallel universes.  
  
I looked at a phone book for a Quinn Mallory. I found out that he has no number listed in the Fresno area. The only way I could find out his number is to search the Internet. I am well-versed ijn the Internet, since I had been using it for over a year to find incarnations of Quinn Mallory, first to find a way around the slidecage, and then to reunite with my brother and friends.  
  
The doctor gave me an X-ray picture of my ribs. They were clearly fractured. She did say that the injuries were not life threatening. So that meant I could leave the hospital and go to the Fresno Public Library.  
  
So that is what I did the day after my arrival. I signed some forms and then went out to look for a public library. After browsing a map at a Chevron station, i found the library.  
  
it was a huige building, given that it was the main branch. I went inside, and I saw computer terminals as well as a whole lot of bookshelves. I also saw a poster asking for volunteers to read to children. I asked the librarian to show me if I could have Internet access, and he pointed me to a web browser terminal. There was a sign limiting web access to thirty minutes whenever there are patrons waiting.  
  
I used the web browser, powered by Netscape, to access the 411 web site. After looking for Quinn Mallory. I found a hit.  
  
Quinn lived in Anaheim, California. I did some more searching, and I found out that Anaheim was about twenty or so miles southeast of Los Angeles, and at least two hundred miles south of Fresno.  
  
I certainly could not walk two hundred miles, even if I did not have broken ribs. Just thinking about it made it hurt. Maybe I could call Quinn. I went out to a public pay phone located just outside the building. I dialed 0 for the operator.  
  
"Collect call for Quinn Mallory," i said. I gave the operator the number.  
  
"your name, sir?" she asked.  
  
"Colin Mallory," I said.  
  
I waited for less than a minute. "No one is answering the phone, sir. Do you wish to try another number?"  
  
"No."  
  
I went back to the library, this time to do a Google search on Quinn.   
  
I found a link to a physics graduate thesis from Concordia University, written by Quinn Mallory. Well, at least this incarnation of Quinn was a physics graduate student. I just hoped that he was working in the right field. After all, it is a long way to Anaheim from here.  
  
And so I began my journey.  
  
I had sold pints of blood earlier that day, so I had enough money to go to to Greyhound bus station in Anaheim. I boarded the Greyhound bus and then it went south on Highway 99, which was known as the Golden State Freeway. Many times over the past year have I traveled across the state in order to find out if Quinn could help me and my friends. At least I did not have to hitchhike, like I had to do a few times before. I looked out at the farms of the Central Valley.  
  
The bus reached Interstate 5 just south of Bakersfield, and then it continues over the Tejon Pass into Los Angeles County. After a four hour journey, the bus reached downtown Los Angeles. I had to make a transfer at the Los Angeles bus station before I could get to Anaheim. After a twenty minute wait, I boarded the Anaheim-bound bus. The bus drove south on Interstate 5 and through several areas of heavy traffic before exiting of Lincoln Avenue in Anaheim. It finally made a stop at the Greyhound bus station which was located on Harbor Boulevard. it was already night when I arrived.  
  
I got off the bus and went into the lobby of the bus station. There was a newsstand in there, as well as posters showing the Greyhound bus routes across the country. I went to a GTE pay phone to ask for a taxi.  
  
A yellow Ford Crown Victoria taxi arrived, and I went in. Already, I coild see that the taxi ride was going to be more expensive that the $19.95 I spent going from Fresno to Anaheim. But the taxi did reach its destination, a block of Glenview Avenue.  
  
I looked at the address, checking the number to see if it matched the address of Quinn Mallory that I retrieved earlier. I found the house. It was a simple and modest one-story home. I walked up to the door and rang the doorbell.  
  
A blond-haired lady in her mid-twenties answered, opening the front door while leaving the screen door closed. "Hello," she said.  
  
"I'm looking for Quinn," I said. "May I please see him?"  
  
"And what is your name?" she asked. I noticed she had a gap between her front teeth.  
  
"My name is Colin," I said. "I'm his brother."  
  
"Brother?" she asked. "How dare you lie like that!" She shut the door.  
  
I went out to the sidewalk. Maybe Colin Mallory was not born on this version of Earth. It was a lot easier to gain an audience with Quinn when I had my own version of Quinn to bring along.   
  
I went back to the house and rang the doorbell.   
  
"We don't want anything," said the blond-haired lady. "We're gonna call the police if you don't stop."  
  
"I'd like Quinn to see me," I said. "If he does not want anything to do with me, I'll be on my way."  
  
Then Quinn came. I saw that he had long brown hair and wore eyeglasses. He took one look at me.  
  
"This can't be right," he said. "You're dead. You can't be him."  
  
Dead? That would explain why the blond-haired lady did not know who I was.  
  
"My name is Colin Mallory," I said. "Do you know about parallel universes?"  
  
Quinn stayed silent for a few seconds. "Yes, I do. They usually interact with our universe via quantum interference between corresponding particles."  
  
"I am from a parallel universe. I correspond to the Colin Mallory who came from this Universe. Have you ever traveled to parallel universes?"  
  
"No, I have not."  
  
"Oh," I said. this Quinn here was not familiar with sliding.  
  
"Find yoiurself a motel room," he said. "And then call me."  
  
"So you believe me?" I asked.  
  
"I can't verify your claims, Colin, but there is a place where I could do just that." 


	2. Junction

I spent the night at a motel on Orangethorpe Avenue near Quinn's house. The next morning, I called Quinn and he agreed to pick me up. Soon, he arrived in a blue BMW. I goty inside the car and within minutes we were heading north on Interstate 5, which was known as the Santa Ana Freeway. There were pockets of heavy traffic, but then Quinn exited off Norwalk Boulevard in Norwalk, and continued north into an industrial neighborhood in Santa Fe Springs.  
  
He finally pulled into a parking lot. "What is this place?" I asked as I got out of the car.  
  
"This is Crayton Labs, where I work," said Quinn.  
  
"And you work with parallel universes?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
He led me to the building, which did not look remarkable from any of the other buildings in this neighborhood, aside from the huge antennas on top. We both went inside a door. There was a room with two doors, one to the outside and one to the interior of the building,  
  
"Who's the visitor, Dr. Mallory?" asked a security guard.  
  
"He's part of a project," replied Quinn.  
  
"Both of you sign here."  
  
Quinn signed in, and I too signed in. We were then allowed inside the building. I found myself walking through a hallway, my feet echoing against the white-tiled floors.  
  
"Good morning, Quinn," said this Negro lady in a white lab coat.  
  
"Morning, DD," said Quinn. We continued until we went inside one of the doors.  
  
Inside the room, a blond-haired lady who appeared to be in her early twenties sat behind a desk. "Good morning, Dr. Mallory," she said.  
  
"Good morning, Angela," said Quinn. "I'm going to have a little meeting with this man here."  
  
"I've got some messages." Angela gave Quinn some pink message slips. We then stepped into his private office and Quinn sat behind a desk. A Power Macintosh G4 sat on the desk.  
  
"Tell me about yourself," said Quinn.  
  
So I did. I told him that my parents sent me to a parallel Earth because of a war, and that my brother, one of his duplicates, arrived on my world. He had a device that could open a portal to another universe. I joined him and two others on a quest to reach my home world. I clutched my chest.  
  
"What's wrong?" asked Quinn.  
  
"My ribs were broken before my arrival here," I said.  
  
"So why did your Quinn not come to my house? It would have been more convincing."  
  
"I got separated from them during a slide. I now slide randomly through parallel universes. See this watch?" I showed him my watch. "One of your duplicates was working on an interdimensional exploration project for the U.S. government. He ands his coworkers found out that I was unstuck."  
  
Quinn typed a few keys on the computer keyboard. "Unstuck means that something can not be held in a particular dimension, but instead travels through the dimensions. It's only theoretical."  
  
"I'm the proof, Quinn. Next week I leave."  
  
"I'd like to run a few tests on you," he said. "Come with me."  
  
Quinn led me out of the office. We entered a room with all sorts of equipment.  
  
"Thios device will allow me to get some information on you," he said. "It will only take a few minutes. Please take a seat."  
  
I sat on this leather chair, where there was somrthibng res,mbling an X-ray device. The machine hummed.  
  
"What is your research here?" I asked.  
  
"I work with a device called a junction," said Quinn. "It can junction an object with its counterpart in a parallel universe."  
  
"Did you invent this device?" I asked.  
  
"No, our founder, Dr. Crayton, was its inventor. he had been working in the field of parallel universes for years. A couple of years ago, he built a prototype device that could open a wormhole to another universe."  
  
"Have you went through the wormhole?" I asked.  
  
"Oh no," said Quinn. "Not unless you can shrink yourself down to microscopic size. Let me explain this a bit. On microscopic levels, space time is wrinkled, like a quantim foam. Crayton's original device simply opened up a wormhole and allowed us to send signals through to parallel universes."  
  
"And what is this junction?" I asked. Another device?"  
  
"it is a device used for practical applications. What it does is map an object's counterpart from another dimension and then lay it on top of the original. Just think of the possibilties. We can cure a sick person by using his healthy duplicate as a template. I could get a Nobel Prize for my work." There was a beep. "The quantum scanner is finished." Quinn took a disk from the computer which was wired into the device. "Let's head back to my office."  
  
So we did. Quinn looked at the raw data on his office computer, and even ran some programs which were designed to interpret this data.  
  
"Nothing abnormal," he said. "Nothing that would suggest that you are unstuck. Do you remember the tests my counterpart gave you to determine that you were unstuck?"  
  
"Well," I said. "I know that there were a few of them."  
  
"Listen, I have to do some work in the lab," said Quinn. "I'll speak to Dr. Crayton about you. Just stick here in the meanwhile. My computer has Internet access."  
  
I waited inside the office for about an hour when Quinn came in. "Dr. Crayton wouild like to see you," he said.  
  
So I went to meet Dr. Crayton.  
  
Dr. Crayton was the head of thios facility. He was a middle-aged man with blond hair and thick eyeglasses. he wore a white lab coat over an expensive-looking business suit.  
  
"Hello," said Dr. Crayton. "Tell me about yourself."  
  
So I did, including the part about traveling through parallel universes.  
  
"so you actually visited these parallel universes for yourself," said Crayton.  
  
"Yes," I replied. "My brother-Quinn's duplicate- built a device that generated a wormhole allowing for such travel."  
  
"And these wormholes were big enough for as human to pass through."  
  
"We drove a truck through it once," I said. "But anyway, the reason I am here. Five months ago, I got separated from my friends. I found out I was unstuck, which means that I now bounce from universe to universe. I came here hoping that you would be willing to help me, if it is all right with you."  
  
"It is," said Dr. Crayton, a smile on his face.  
  
"Really?" I asked. I was not expecting the doctor to be so generous, let alone take my word for it.  
  
"I'd like you to meet our research staff, whom the junction would not have been possible without," said Crayton.  
  
"A visitor from another universe's version of Earth?" said Dr. Maximilian Arturo. "This is absolutely ridiculous. How do we know he is telling the truth. We could all be wasting our time!"  
  
"He may be our best chance to make the junction succeed," said Dr. Crayton. "We've only been able to create microscopic wormholes. We may make wormholes viable for human travel."  
  
I was meeting with the reserch staff in this conference room. I had been introduced to Drs. Maximilian Arturo,. Vladimir Jariabek, Conrad Bennish, Wing, and Diana "DD" Davis.  
  
"We still have to verify whether or not Colin Mallory here is from another dimension,." said Wing.  
  
"He looks just like my brother, only thirteen years older," said Quinn. "You can have the genetics lab down the street conduct a DNA test; it will show that we are brothers."  
  
"We could conduct a quantum resonance test," said Diana Davis. "The stuff that we junctioned contains parts from parallel universes, which will virbate at a different frequency for a while. If Colin here arrived recently, he should be vibrating differently than the rest of the universe."  
  
"I still am skeptical," said Arturo. "He must have a device that allows him to travel between dimensions."  
  
"I believe him," said Crayton. "He is not lying, and I am certain he is not insane. I saw we perform tests to verify his status. by studying him, we may unlock one of the secrets of the multiverse."  
  
"Hey," said Conrad Bennish. "You're the boss."  
  
I was brought back into the same lab I was over an hour ago. Quinn was there, along with Doctors Davis and Jariabek. I was put inside this chamber.  
  
"We will be doing an QRI scan," said Dr. Jariabek. "this machine was designed to measure the quantum resonance of our test subjects."  
  
"Will it show any differences with me?" I asked.  
  
"If you arrived from a parallel universe recently, your quantum resonance should be significantly different from the background quantum resonance," said Dr. Davis.  
  
The machine hummed. After a few minutes, the whole thing was over.   
  
"Do you have the results?" I asked.  
  
"Well, according to these measuremewnts, you're from a parallel universe," said Dr. Davis.  
  
"I wonder how he knew," said Dr. Jariabek.  
  
"I say we analyze the data," said Quinn. He inserted a disk into the computer that was connected to the QRI machine. he later ejected the disk.  
  
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Dr. Crayton asked Quinn.  
  
"Well, sir, if we are conducting all these tests on Colin here," said Quinn, "we should at least show him the junction."  
  
I was in the main lab, a huge room in the basement level of the building. There were all these mainframe computers. The device itself was a chamber, large enough for an adult human.  
  
"So those antennas I saw on top of the building are for this," I said.  
  
"Yes," said Crayton. "They are necessary for us to realize the goal of this research. What the junction does is create a multi-dimensional field inside. This field opens up millions of wormholes in the quantum foam, allowing us to access other versions of the test object in parallel universes."  
  
A lab aide broiught two ceramic plates. "Now look here. These two plates have had a hole bored through them with a laser. We will keep one of these plates out here as a backup, while the other plate will be junctioned with a whole version of itself in another universe."  
  
One of them plates were placed inside the chamber of the junction. Dr. Diana Davis went to the control panel.  
  
"Beginning sequence," she said. "Scanning the molecular structure of the test object., Measuring quantum resonance."  
  
The machine began to hum. I could see needles move in the voltmeters and ammeters.  
  
"Generating junctioning field," said Dr. Davis. There was a glow in the chamber. I looked closely; the plate was enveloped in a bluish glow."Junctioning field at full saturation." I looked at one of the screens; I could see the plate, with the hole in the middle.  
  
"Begin junction," said Crayton.  
  
Dr. Davis pulled a lever, and the chamber glowed brightly. Inside, I could see the plate. The hole bored inside started to disappear. I could also see its representation on the Silcon Graphics monitor screen, and it showed the plate being repaired.  
  
"Junctioning successful," said Davis.  
  
"Good, shut down the field."  
  
The junction was powered down. Dr. Crayton took the plate out and showed it to me. the hole in the middle was gone.  
  
"Well, you invented a new way to repair plates,"I said.  
  
"It only cost ten thousand dollars," said Quinn. "you could buy at least a hundred of those plates with the money we used for this one little test."  
  
"It's okay, Dr. Mallory," said Dr. Crayton. "Once we refine this technology, we can use this to heal people. And believe me, the junction would be cheaper than other forms of medical care."  
  
"Have you used the junction on living things?" I asked.   
  
"We only recently tested on unicellular life forms," said Crayton. "We expose it to radiation to cause cell damage, and then put it in here. We have been so far unsuccessful with multicellular life. But you could be the key, Colin. You can help us achieve our goal."  
  
"Well, let's do the usual," said Quinn. "Let's have a QRI for this test plate and control plate."  
  
Later on, Quinn and I met with Dr. Crayton.  
  
"I've looked through the initial tests on you, Mr. Mallory," said Crayton. "the results were promising. We may be able to use this on multicellular life, even go so far as to use human test subjects."  
  
"I am honored to help in such a noble endeavour," I said. "But I would appreciate you helping me. My brother and friends are out there, hopefully alive, and I know they were looking for me. Can you find them?"  
  
"We can certainly try," said Crayton. "If this project is successful, we would have you to thank for it. Now, you will need a proper place to stay. I;m afraid the lab is not a nice place. Perhaps staying with Dr. Mallory will be feasible. he is as close you have as family for now."  
  
"I don't know," said Quinn. "My wife might object to having a strange man in the house."  
  
"then how about a housing allowance," said Crayton. "I would say two hundred dollars a day."  
  
"I'd be honored," said Quinn. "You would like to stay, right Colin?"  
  
"It will be better than that motel," I said. "Let's do it." 


	3. Quinn and Jewel

We did not go to Quinn's house after leaving Crayton Labs. Instead, we went to a place called the Lemon Twist Lounge, which was at the corner of Dale Avenue and Ball Road in Anaheim, near an Arco gas station.  
  
Inside the Lemon Twiast Lounge was some pool tables and a bar and a jukebox and some arcade games. Women in bikinis served drinks behiond the bar. IOt was mostly empty except for the two of us and three patrons sitting at the bar.  
  
"Hey Quinn," said a blond-haired lady standing behind a bar, dressed in a red bikini. I recognized her as the woman who answered the door when I first arrived at Quinn's house.  
  
"Hey Jewel," said Quinn. "Colin, this is my wife Jewel."  
  
"Hi," I said, shaking her hand.  
  
"Want anything to drink?" she asked.  
  
"I'll have a Budweiser," I said. So she gave me a Budweiser. Quinn was the one paying for it.  
  
"So tell me about yourself, Colin," said Quinn.  
  
So I told Quinn my biography, from my adoption by my birth parents' duplicates to my traveling around California to first meeting my brother. I told him about my various travels and what I saw. I told him about how I found out I was unstuck.  
  
"So you thought you were home, until your parents' duplicates tried to kill you?" he asked.  
  
"Yes," I said. "Remmy told me that the humans were the ones who waged a war of aggression against the kromaggs on that world. We escaped that world riding on an Amtrak train near downtown Los Angeles."  
  
"And when was your last encounter with the kromaggs?"  
  
"Two months ago, I was on this world where no one from Europe or Asia settled in North America. The Indians there apparently worshipped the kromaggs who came there years ago. They captured me and handed me over to them. Well, one thing led to another, and I escaped. So, tell me about yourself."  
  
"I was born in San Francisco and lived there for eighteen years. When I was fifteen, my parents and my brother-your duplicate- were killed in a car crash near Pacifica. I was the only survivor. I lived with Uncle Mac for two years. Then I got a scholarship to Concordia University in Orange County. I dedicated my life to physics.It wad there that I met Jewel, who was an English major. I contineud my graduate and doctorate studies in Concordia."  
  
"How did you hook up with Dr. Crayton?" I asked.  
  
"Crayton recruited me from physics graduate school," said Quinn. "He said his research lab was on the cutting edge of unlocking the mysteries of the universe. I actuaslly read his scientific papers on the basic structure of space-time, and the exzistence of parallel universes and its interactions with our own. He even paied for my education to get my doctorate at Concordia. I got to chance to work with Dr. Arturo and Dr. Jabiarek, two very prominent phyicists in the world."  
  
"And Crayton gets credit for your discoveries."  
  
"Crayton Labs earns the profit, I get the credit on whatever I uncover in the research that I do. I've already published in the physics journals. But what's to complain about. I get paid well, and I'm getting paid an extra two hundred to provide room and board for you."  
  
"Do you think thisn junction will work?" I asked.  
  
"It will," said Quinn. "By the summer of next year I expect it will be used on human test subjects. The junction will revolutionize medicine."  
  
"What other projects is Crayton Lanbs doing besides the junction?"  
  
"Well, we're also trying to send and receive electromagnetic signals to other dimensions, or maybe create a wormhole large enough for a human to pass through. And with you here, I know it's possible."  
  
"Quinn, I'd like you to tell me something, but it might make you uncomfortable."  
  
"Go ahead," said Quinn as he sipped his cold beer.  
  
"What was your brother, the Colin of this world, like?"  
  
Quinn just stared distantly, as if he were looking to the past. "He was like you are now," he said. "He was inquisitive, seeking knowledge. But his field wasd different. I wanted to know how the universe worked. He wanted to know about people, about society. He wanted to be an archaeologist once, after seeing those Indiana Jones movies. He would have loved traveling to parallel universes."  
  
"Well, there are things I like about that," I said. "It can be dangerous at times, though. there were times when I almost got killed or got stuck for twenty-nine years, although I don't have to worry about that anymore.  
  
"But the most interesting part was not witnessing other versions of society, but other versions of me. I've seen other versions of me, and I even got mixed up in their lives. By knowing what lives they led, it gives me more insight on myself, and how the choices I make influence my life."  
  
"Well, this world's version of you is buried in San Francisco," said Quinn.   
  
"I've heard you talking about parallel universes," said Jewel, who apparently heard part of our conversation. "Quinn likes to talk about it. Maybe I have a duplicate out there who is a world-famous singer."  
  
"You were a singer?" I asked her.  
  
"I chose to be a writer and a poet," said Jewel. "I took music lessons as a kid."  
  
Later on, Jewel had her break. She decided to talk about herself as we sat around the table.   
  
"I was born and raised in Alaska," said Jewel. "It's a beautiful state. Quinn and I were there just this summer. Aynway, I went to Concordia when I was eighteen, and there I met Quinn. I tend the bar as my regular job, and I write stories and poems on the side. I've even been published."  
  
"So why are you working in this bar with barely anything on?" I asked.  
  
"Well, I meet a lot of people here," she said. "It can give me inspiration, make my creative mind kick in."  
  
I told Jewel my story.  
  
"Maybe I should write your experiences into a novel," said Jewel.  
  
"It's not like I could sue you for plagiarism," I said. "I mean, I'll be gone in a few days. See this watch? When it reaches zero, I will disappear."  
  
"I want to be there when it happens," said Jewel. "At least then I will know that you are not crazy."  
  
Jewel went back to work, and Quinn and I decided to play pool. Two shots after the opening break, it turned out I was stripes. The game was over a few minutes later.  
  
"That was a nice shot," said Quinn. "You hit the ball to the opposite side, and then it bounced back to put the eight ball in the corner pocket."  
  
"Well, you learn a few tricks if you spend a year traveling through parallel Earths," I said.  
  
"Too bad the cue ball also went into the pocket."  
  
Jewel's shift was over, so we all went home. We got hamburgers from a nearby Jack-in-the Box along the way.   
  
"There is a futon," said Quinn. "you can sleep there. We have some DVD's if you want to watch, or you can surf the web on the computer. I'll take you to the lab tomorrow. I came up with an idea when I was drinking. Maybe a good night's sleep will make it clear."  
  
"Or maybe you need some more inspiration," said Jewel, stroking her husband's long hair and untying his ponytail.  
  
They left and I heard their bedroom door shut. I decided to look through the DVD's. I saw one, titled Air Force One. I put it into the   
  
Toshiba DVD player.  
  
It was a great movie. Kevin Costner starred as President James Marshall, who was riding in Air Force One with his wife, daughter, and staff when terrorists hijacked the plane. The President himself took action against the terrorists, and after sequences of people getting shot and airplanes blowing up, the President and his family make it out okay.  
  
After that, I extended the futon and lay down with the back of my head against a pillow. I felt my ribs; they still hurt from the rock that struck my chest days ago.  
  
Dreamtime.  
  
I probably have more interesting dreams than other people, due to my year of experience in sliding.I saw images of parallel Earths, and an image of several Earths being fused into one.  
  
Then he appeared.  
  
He was this old man who has appaeared in my dreams many times, to give me a message that I would remember when I wake up. Everything he said to me in those dreams later turned to be true. And just last month, some lady in a mental institution told me that Rembrandt and Quinn and Maggie were okay, indicating that this was no product of my mind, but someone was speaking to me across the dimensions.  
  
"It's you again," I said.  
  
"How are you doing, Colin?" he asked.  
  
"Well, my ribs still hurt. But I found Quinn, and he is capable of helping me."  
  
"The junction is dangerous."  
  
"Dangerous?" I asked. "How? What is the danger?"  
  
"The junction poses a danger not only for this Earth, but for your home Earth, and other Earths as well."  
  
"My home Earth? What do you mean?"  
  
"The people behind this...."  
  
But then he was lost into the dreamtime. 


	4. The Warning

I woke up, still remembering the message that I got. I ate Fruity Pebbles and drank Minute Maid orange juice for breakfast. After that, I hopped into Quinn's BMW and then he headed for Crayton Lans in Santa Fe Springs.  
  
"Uh, Quinn," I said as the car was moving throuhg the dense traffic of the Santa Ana Freeway, "there's something I have to tell you."  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"I had a dream. This man appeared in my dream and told me that the junction is dangerous."  
  
"We take safety precautions, Colin. We haven't had an accident with the junction. We're waiting half a year before we determine whether or not it is safe to test it on humans."  
  
"He told me that the junction was a danger to Earth and its counterparts in parallel universes."  
  
"I'm a scientist, Colin. Your dreams are not evidence."  
  
"You haven't encountered the things that I have the past year," I said. "This man told me my former companions are okay. He also told me that I would learn about my heritage, and then I had an encounter with the kromaggs the very next day."  
  
"Do you have anything better?" asked Quinn.  
  
"A month ago, a series of events landed me in a mental hospital," I said.  
  
"You told them you were friom a parallel universe and no one believed you."  
  
"That's right; they thought I had tried to kill the King of the United States, but that's another story. There was this lady who was also sent there. She told me that Rembrandt and Maggie and Quinn were okay. Even if she knew of my connection to Quinn from the news strories on that world, she could not have known about Rembrandt or Maggie unless someone told her."  
  
"Well, that does indicate something," said Quinn. "Someone who knew of your predicament told her. But how do we know he told you the junction poses a threat to the Earth? And how do we know he is right?"  
  
"Do we do things if we are not certain of its safety?"  
  
"As I said before, we take safety precautions," said Quinn. "The junctioning field only occupies the chamber. It does not extend over the whole building, let alone the whole planet."  
  
We drove along the freeway for a few more minutes, then Quinn took the exit off Norwalk Boulevard.   
  
"Still, we had been working with the junction for over a year, and there may be side effects we have not considered. I'll speak to Dr. Crayton about it when we arrive."  
  
After parking the BMW, Quinn and I entered the Crayton Labs building. We decided to go right to Dr. Crayton's office. And there he was, sitting behind his desk, watching the computer monitor.  
  
"Dr. Mallory," said Crayton. "Do you have any updates on your projects?"  
  
"I was just wondering if the junction is safe," said Quinn. "I mean, safe for the researchers and the environment."  
  
"It's quite safe," ssaid the head researcher. "We have all sorts of measuring instruments taking every sort of measurement whenever the junction is used. You know that we studied the junctioning field for four months before we actually tried to junction anything. We made notes on how the junctioning field affects everything around it. We know it has not affected anything outside the chamber, and we know the field collapses when the power is cut."  
  
"Still, we are punching tiny holes through spacetime whenever we use the junction."  
  
"If you suspect a side effect from the use of the junction, you can write it down and show me the report, and then we can discuss it with the senior staff."  
  
"I want my work to help people, not hurt them."  
  
"I know you do, Dr. Mallory. I too want to help people. I recruited you because of your brilliant mind, especially at such a young age. You certainly rival Dr. Arturo and Dr. Jariabek in sheer brilliance and insight."  
  
"I think the junction is dangerous," I said.  
  
"And what doctorate do you hold, Mr. Mallory?" asked Crayton.  
  
"Some guy told me in a dream," I said.  
  
"Well, well," said Dr. Crayton with a smile. "I suppose traveling through parallel universes causes you to witness many strange things."  
  
"Do you believe me?" I asked.  
  
"I believe someone did contact you in a dream," replied Crayton. "I don't believe that someone was right, or that the junction poses a threat to anything outside this lab."  
  
"The field has never extended beyond the junctioning chamber," said Quinn. "We have equipment that regulates the power going into the field, and circuit breakers that would shut off power if too much power was going into the field."  
  
"I always welcome your ideas, Dr. Mallory. More than once has it put us closer to our goal."  
  
We both left his office. "Dr. Crayton is sure passionate about his work," I said.  
  
"He's brilliant," said Quinn, "More brilliant than anyone in physics. I think he might outshine Albert Einstein or Stephen Hawking. Maybe someday, the strength of a junctioning field will be measured in craytons. Anyway, I mentioned that I had an idea. I'm going to work on it in my office.  
  
The research staff at Crayton Labs conducted some more tests upon me. I heard a lot of technical stuff being discussed, something that my brother would be interested in. I had evewrything done from QRI scans to having my body temperature taken. The watch I wear was studied, to determine how it works.  
  
After some tests, I went to Quinn's office. He was not there, just his secretary Angela.  
  
"He's meeting with the senior staff," she said. "You could wait here."  
  
"How much do you know about this research?" I asked.  
  
"Not much," she replied. "Dr. Mallory just says it has something to be with parallel universes and junction fields. So where are you from?"  
  
"I was born in San Francisco, and moved to El Segundo," I said.  
  
"Dr. Mallory was from San Francisco," said Angela. "He moved to Anaheim after his parents died."  
  
"My parents are also dead," I said.  
  
"Well, my parents are still alive. I'm from Long Beach, and I still live there."  
  
The phone rang, and Angela answered it. "Dr. Mallory's office," she said. She hung up the phone. "Colin, Dr. Mallory and the senior staff are asking youn to the conference room."  
  
Once again, I met with the senior staff of Crayton Labs. Everyone was there, including Quinn and Dr. Crayton.  
  
"Let me try to explain it without going too technical," said Quinn. "We believe that you got unstuck when some extra mass entered the wormhole as you were going though it. It destabilized your bonds with the universe, and now you slide randomly." He then went on to explain in very technical terms, something about QRI's and backtracking.  
  
"Run that by me again," I said.  
  
"He said that we can pinpoint which dimension you were in when you got unstuck," said Dr. Conrad Bennish.  
  
I remember that world. Quinn, Rembrandt, Maggie, and I got into some trouble with the locals, and they were shooting at us. Could a bullet fired into the wormshole cause me to be unstuck?  
  
"I doubt they are there anymore," I said. "They are still sliding around, and they are looking for a place where they can retrieve me. They've done it once before."  
  
"This wormhole they use must have a signature from the device they opened it with," said Quinn. "Your signature has not changed even though you've been in this universe for over two days. Objects that we have junctioned have a different signature for a while, but thety go back to the same background signature. You should have the same signature as the wormhole, and we can backtrack to where you got unstuck, and them forward track to your friends."  
  
"What?" I asked. I remembered the words.  
  
"You can reunite with your friends," said Dr. Wing.  
  
"There is a catch, however," said Dr. Maximilian Arturo. "It will only work on your next trip. Our data is based on your present position; it would be useless once you switch universes. Even if this works, you may not find them,."  
  
"At least I have a chance," I said.   
  
"We still have not found the data we need to construct the device," said Quinn. "I hope this does not distract our work from the junction."  
  
"It may actually help," said Dr. Crayton, speaking up for the first time in this meeting. "A fog on a photographic plate lying next to uramium ore led to nuclear energy. I am certain we will not have another chance to study an unstuck human."  
  
"Well," said Dr. Vladimir Jariabek, "Dr. Crayton is right. We are scientists; we are here to unlock the mysteries of the Universe!"  
  
"The junction would only be a dream without our search for knowledge in the most unlikely places," said Dr. Diana Davis. "Let's continue with our study of Colin Mallory here."  
  
Crayton Labs did some more tests on me, scanning me with various devices. Dr. Crayton seemed to take a personal interest in these tests. I even witnesses another test of the junction. Once again, a cracked plate was repaired by junctioning it with one of its counterpartsd from a parallel universe.  
  
"I believe that we are ready to use it on multicellular life," said Dr. Diana Davis as she shut down the junction. "We intend to use potted plants as test subjects tomorrow."  
  
"Is it safe?" I asked. "I have a feeling it's not safe. I mean, what if there is a residual effect."  
  
"Most of the equipment in this room is used to measure the junction and the field it generates," said Davis. "There is no junctioning fiels inside the chamber." She opened the chamber and put her hand inside. "You can even put your hand inside without any ill effect."  
  
"Did you conduct tests to determine that?" I asked.  
  
"Yes," said Diana. "We used three plates. One of them we junctioned, the other we kept outside, and the third we placed in the chamber a minute after the junction was shut down. That test plate statyed inside for an hour, and no residual effects can be traced."  
  
"I hope you're right, Dr. Davis. I mean, something seems out of place. There is some detail I'm missing."  
  
I went back to Quinn's house, and I settled down. The three of us had dinner, and we spoke more about our lives and events in this world. I even decided to watch one of the DVD's that Quinn owns. It is titled, The President Is Having a Baby. In this comedy, the President of the United States discovers she is pregnant and must deal with the pregnancy as well as the presidency. It sure provided a good distraction frok the pressures of my life.   
  
The next day was a big event. It was the day of the big test. The junction would use a multicellular living thing as a test subject.  
  
The test subject was a potted plant. Both the test and control subjects had incisions made into one of their leaves. I was invited to witness it, as well as the senior staff. Technicaisn were making sure to check the instruments to ensure they were in good working order.   
  
"Excellent," said Dr. Crayton as a technician told him that all systems were ready to go. "Let us begin the countdown."  
  
I saw an LED display a countdown for the junction, almost like a timer. When it reached zero, the junction began to hum.  
  
I could see a represenation of the test subject on the screen.  
  
"Junctioning field at full strength," said Dr. Diana Davis. "Chamber saturated. Junctioning in progress."  
  
I could see the main screen where the molecular scan of the test subject was shown. I can see changes.   
  
"It's working," said Quinn.   
  
After a few minutes, it was over. The junction was shut off. Dr. Crayton opened the door.  
  
He took out the potted plant. I looked and saw that the incision on the leaf had healed.  
  
"You see," said Dr. Crayton. "It worked. This plant was junctioned with its counterpart from a parallel universe, and thus healed."  
  
"We should have the test and control plants studied in the botany lab," said Dr. Arturo.   
  
"Well, you are right, Dr. Arturo," said Crayton. "But even if this is a failure, we can learn from it. And we would not have gotten this far were it not for the tests we conducted on Mr. Colin Mallory here."  
  
"Well, thank you," I said.  
  
"Hey," said Dr. Conrad Bennish. "You're da man!"  
  
"Well, I have to hand it to you, Colin," said Quinn as he sat behind his desk in the office, "You were a great help to us, and maybe to the people of this world."  
  
"I might have been put here for this reason," I said. "I think there's a reason why I visit certain worlds."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
"Last month, I foiled a terrorist hijacking where they attempted to crash a cargo jet in downtown San Francisco. Before that, I managed to take down a Kromagg Dynasty base. And soon after I was separated, I liberated a death camp."  
  
"Well, you've been busy. Anyway, I think I've come upo with an idea on a way to reunite you with your friends. You want me to be specific?"  
  
"No. Just tell me what it would accomplish."  
  
"Well, with the test results we gleaned, we can calculate where your friends would be when you leave. We can put a tracking device the size of a belt buckle. You wear the belt, and it will take you to what dimension they are."  
  
"So I can follow them."  
  
"Maybe, or maybe not. It is likely that it will work when you leave this universe, but it might not work in the next universe. And it won't take you to their exact location; you could arrive in Anaheim and they could be in New York City."  
  
"If that's the only chance, I will take it. I know they are looking for me. I should do whatever I can to find them."  
  
"That's the spirit."  
  
I had a little something to hope for.   
  
I also hoped that the junction does not destroy the Earth. 


	5. Dr Crayton's Hidden Agenda

"I just had this idea," said Quinn as he drove home in his BMW.  
  
"What?" I asked.  
  
"That watch of yours indicates thast you would be here past Thanksgiving. How would youn like to have Thanksgiving with us?"  
  
"I'd like that."  
  
"Uh, you know what Thanksgiving is, right?"  
  
"It's a holiday to celebrate a dinner by Pilgrims who landed here three hundred years ago. The Indians shared food with them."  
  
"Well, it's the same on your world as it is on mine."  
  
"I don't know. Wouldn't Jewel's family come along? They must think that I am dead. How would you explain my prescence to them?"  
  
"Her parents are meeting us for dinner here in Anaheim," said Quinn. "We'll pick them up from John Wayne Airport on Wednesday. I'll just tell them you're boarding here, and thaty your family died."  
  
After over forty minutes of heavy traffic on the Santa Ana Freeway, we finally reached his house. We both went inside the house.   
  
"Quinn," I said. "do you have a high school yearbook with your brother in it?" I asked.  
  
"I think I have it in the garage," he said. After a minute, he caem inside with a blue book. "Here it is."  
  
I sat down on the dinner table to read the book. I looked trhough the pictures of the students from the Class of 1989, and I saw my duplicate's picture.  
  
He looked just as I did when I was seventeen We both had somewhat chubby faces back then.   
  
I flipped the pages to the back of the yearbook. There was another picture of my duplicate in the back. There was also a caption.  
  
IN MEMORY OF COLIN MALLORY  
  
1971-1988  
  
I looked through the yearbook. I saw that the local Colin Mallory wasa in the basketball team as well as several schopol cliubs. Clearly, he fit in, while I did not fit in where I grew up.  
  
After I was done with the yearbook, I decided to watch another DVD. I looked through, and I selected a movie called Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.   
  
It took over two hours to finish the movie. Its setting was long ago in a galaxy far, far away. There was this republic that ruled the galaxy, and two people from the Jedi came to settle a trade dispute. Well, one thing led to another, and soon there was a podrace, a space battle, and a lightsaber duel with someone named Darth Maul who was part of the Sith. In the end, one of the Jedi was killed, and a little boy joined the Jedi order. I hoped that the sequel to this movie would be as good as this one.  
  
I was off for three days. I decided to take in the sights. Although this was not the first time I had ever been to Anaheim, every version has its differences. I spent the day at Disneyland, riding the rides and watching the shows.The day after that, I went to the public beach in Seal Beach, and the beach was crowded even though it was November. In the evening, after dinner, I read a book of poetry that Jewel had written and published. And let me say this, she is an awesome poet.   
  
On Monday, Quinn came back with some news.  
  
"We did it," he said.  
  
"How is the junction?" I asked.  
  
"Great," he said. "We think it works fine on multicellular life with no ill effects. We've completed our analysis of the test subjects; there is no harm done."  
  
"So now you;re ready to try this on humans?" I asked.  
  
"We'll have to find willing subjects first. And there is one other thing."  
  
"What?"  
  
"This." Quinn presented me with a belt.  
  
"you got this for me as a gift?"  
  
"Yes, it is a gift. And on its buckle is a device which I believe will guide you to where your friends are."  
  
"Has it been tested?"  
  
"No, it has not. And I will not lie and say there are no risks. I have no objections if you choose to reject it."  
  
"I have to take any chance I get of reuniting with my brother and friends," I said. "I know they're still alive. I know they're looking for me."  
  
After dinner I decided to watch TV. About the only interesting thing on is this TV show called the Parkers, which was about a woman and her daughter who attend the same junior college in Santa Monica. After having a can of Budweiser beer, I decided to go to sleep.  
  
He contacted me again.   
  
"What is it?" I asked. "who are you?"  
  
"There is great danger," he said.  
  
"You told me that already."  
  
"Listen, Colin. Dr. Crayton is not to be trusted. He is hiding his agenda from his researchers. He is going to use the junction to wage war."  
  
"Against whom?"  
  
"Against your people. Against the country where you parents live. They are still alive now, but they are in grave danger. If Crayton is successful in his plan, your parents will be killed!"  
  
Then he disappeared.  
  
The next morning, I asked Quinn about what Dr. Crayton plans to do with the junction.  
  
"He hasn't told me anything yet," said Quinn. "If you are concerned about human test subject, we are still looking."  
  
"Can this device destroy the whole Earth?" I asked.  
  
Quinn was surprised by the question. "Well, the junction field we generate requires a great deal of power, and exists in the confines of the junction chamber. It would take a great deal of power for it to encompass the whole Earth. Southern California Edison certainly does not generate enough power for that."  
  
"Will I be needed for more tests?" I asked.  
  
"No."  
  
With that, he got into his car and went to work. I decided to finish reading the Orange County Register. I read some articles about a fund raiser that President Williams attended, and I read articles on some senators and governors seeking to run against him next year. I then turned on his computer and browsed web pages on the Internet.   
  
Quinn came home unexpectedly in the afternoon. I wondered if there was an emergency.  
  
"What happened?" I asked.  
  
"I got fired," said Quinn. "Dr. Crayton met with us and he told us all that we were no longer needed."  
  
"I thought you guys were working on the junction."  
  
"Yeah, he said he had all the answers, and that he doesn't need us anymore. Crayton Labs will be shut down by Friday. He already cut our last paychecks."  
  
"I'm sure you can still use him as a reference," I said.  
  
"Yeah. Maybe I can get a job in CalTech in Pasadena. I wonder if they're hiring new physicists."  
  
"At least Jewel has her job."  
  
"She doesn't have tenure. They could fire her."  
  
I remembered the message that guy told me in my dream. "Listen, Quinn," I said. "I think Dr. Crayton has a hidden agenda. That's why he decided to fire you. He's planning to do an experiment alone, without you or the others."  
  
"Well, what do you want me to do about it, Colin?"  
  
"You couild give me a ride there."  
  
And so, just after sunset, Quinn gave me a ride back to Crayton Labs. The parking lot was mostly empty, except for one car.  
  
"That's Dr. Crayton's car," said Quinn. "Here is my keycard."  
  
I took the cards with the Crayton Labs logo and used it to open the door. There was no guard inside; apparently Crayton had fired the guards as well.   
  
The hallways were dark, making it look a lot different than the past few times I was here. I made my way to the stairwell and went down to the concrete hallways of the basement. the basement was still lit. I walked ubntil I reached the lab where the junction chamber was located.   
  
I heard people talking inside, and I recognized Crayton's voice. But they weere not speaking English. I wondered what language they were speaking.  
  
I opened the door and peeked inside. I saw Crayton with his back turned, dressed in a white lab coat. I saw someone else with hiunm, wearing some sort of black military uniform with bright brass buttons.  
  
I saw that he was a kromagg! I had to look again to make sure of what I saw. Crayton turned his head, and I saw that he weas a kromagg as well.  
  
It was beginning to make sense. Why Crayton was so eager to study me, why he decided to fire the entire lab staff.   
  
then the door swung wide open, and someone grabbed me. That someone was a kromagg soldier.   
  
"Well, well," said Crayton. "It's nice to see your intruding in here, Mr. Mallory."  
  
"I know what you are," I said. "I know how you conquer other Earths."  
  
"Indeed," said Crayton. "Of course, why else would I believe your story, if I did not know that humans can travel through parallel Earths?"  
  
"What is your plan?" I asked.  
  
"I intend to junction this Earth Outpost 187 with my home Earth, thus bypassing the humans' slidecage. Once the two Earths are junctioned, we will reclaim our home, and crush the humans' nations."  
  
"You used human researchers," I said.  
  
"it's fitting, Mallory. Humans drove us out of our home, and it should be humans who bring us back."  
  
"if this junction does not work properlty, it could kill billions on both Earths."  
  
"Except for a few kromaggs here preparing to take out rthe slidecage satellites, the casualities from a faulty junction would be human. If we have to sacrifice lives to reclaim our home, let it be the lives of the humans! I am glad you camer to witness this. You have come to witness the junctioning of two Earths and the repatriation of the Kromagg Dynasty!"  
  
The kromagg officer beckoned to the soldier, and he aimed his laser at me. I was about to die, just like the Colin Mallory of this Earth eleven years ago.  
  
I went for the barrel and pointed it away. I saw a brief flash of light as the soldier fired the laser. I wrestled around as the laser beam burned the walls of the main lab. I knocked the soldier on the ground, and I saw the laser beam cut right through Dr. Crayton!  
  
I punched the soldier in the face, took the laser, and then I started running.   
  
I had an idea of where to go. I heards footsteps. The kromaggs were pursuing me. I went around the corner of a hallway, and then I fired the laser beam at the soldiers. I then went up a stairwell that hads roof access. The door to the roof was locked, so I blasted the lock with a laser beam.  
  
I was now on top of the roof. I saw the huge antenna array. I now knew what it was for.  
  
the kromaggs had sent satellites into Earth orbit a while ago. This antenna and the satellites will be used to envelope the Earth in a junctioning field. The jucntioning field will combine this world with my home world. It may end destroying both Earths.   
  
Suddenyl, I had double vision. I looked around, the the nearby buildings seem to be doubling. It was the junction.  
  
The antenna array was hugeI certainly could not destroy it with this laser. But the antenna must be receiving a signal from the main lab.  
  
I then saw a metal box with a label warning of high voltage. If I destroyted this boix, could I collapse the junction field around the Earth?  
  
I found out by blasting the metal box, causing sparks to fly. I looked around, and I could see that the buildings near thew lab were no longer seem to be doubling. But the antenna seemed to be doubling.  
  
then I reslizes that this building itself was being junctioned, and I had to get out of here.  
  
I ran down the stairs to the first floor. along the way, I sawe the kromaggas, so I just opened fire and run. Soon I was out pf the exit and into the parking lot.  
  
"Colin," said Quinn. "What's going on?"  
  
I looked, and saw the building splitting into three copies of itself. then it split into four copies. Each copy looked less and less attached to this dimension. Soon, the whole building seemed to vibrate.  
  
And then it was gone. the only tjhing left was a hole in the ground, with the foundation at the bottom of the hole.  
  
"Crayton was going to junction the whole Earth," i said. "I stopped him, and it was only the building that was junctioned."  
  
"So it's in another dimension?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Why would he do that?"  
  
"I'll explain on the way home."  
  
And so I told him more about the kromaggs as we headed back to Anaheim. 


	6. Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving, Quinn and Jewel went to John Wayne Airport to pick up jewel's parents who flew in from Alaska. I decided to play some video games on the Nintendo 64, as there was not much elese to do, with Crayton Labs being in another universe and all.   
  
I heard the door unlock, and I saw Quinn and Jewel enter with an older couple. Quinn introduced me to them.  
  
"This is Colin," he said. "He was a test subject in the lab where I worked. He is residing with us for a few days."  
  
"I've offered to help with the Thanksgiving dinner," I said.  
  
Thanksgiving Day was a busy day for me. It was in the afternoon that I started preparing the Thanksgiving dinner. I washed my hands, and then I proceeded to cook the turkey that would be the main course for the dinner. I first pout it in the Kenmore microwave oven to defrost it. As the microwaves defrosted the turkey, I prepared the stuffing and the gravy. Jewel was also in the kitchen, preparing a salad.   
  
After a few minutes, the microwave oven beeped as the turkey was defrosted. I opened the door and took the turkey out. It was not as cold as before, and felt wet. I placed the turkey in the oven ansd then set the temperature and the bake time. it would take about forty minutes to cook this turkey. While the turkey was baking, I set the table with Quinn's best tablecloth. I put all of the placemats around the table, and I placed all the fine plates and the silverware on top of the placemats. I set the cranberry sauce and the horderves.  
  
And then, the oven beeped, and the turket was finished. I opened the oven door, and I removed the huge turkey, holding the trasy with the potholders. I set the turkey on the dining table. I then put the gravy on the table. We all thanked the Lord for his gift to us.  
  
Quinn did the honors to sl;ive the turkey, and I had a bite. And it sure tasted good! Thegravy and the sutffing was especially deliciopus. Even the odor of the food was enough to please, not to mention the taste.  
  
As we all ate, I told the guests about myself.  
  
"You must miss them," said Jewel's father after hearing about how my parents died when I was young.  
  
"Well, at least you are all right now," said Jewel's mother. "They would be very proud of you."  
  
"I know," I said. "I'm just glad to be a guest here."  
  
"How long will you be staying?" asked Jewel's father.  
  
"I leave Saturday," I said.  
  
"What are you trying to find by doing all this traveling?" asked Jewel's mother.  
  
"I guess I'm trying to find my place in the world."  
  
We continued eating. We managed to finish the roasted turkey. Even all the gravy and stuffing was eaten. The Thnaksgiving dinner was completed with rich white wine.  
  
"You know," said Jewel, "if I hadn't decided to go to Concordia University, I would not have met Quinn, and I would not be married to such a wonderful man."  
  
"I agree," said Quinn.  
  
"Maybe not," I said. "Quinn could have moved to Alaska. Or you could have both gone to college in New York. There are over trillions of possibilities. I should know."  
  
During this dinner, I focused on the here and now, and I trsuted to God that He would take care of me. I certainly appreciated the much-needed rest.  
  
Even if I did clean the kitchen and wash the dishes.  
  
I spent my remaining time visiting places such as the Gamble House in Pasadena and the Queen Mary in Long Beach. Eventually, my appointed time came. It was time for me to go.  
  
"It may be dangerous," said Quinn. "you might want to take off the belt."  
  
"if this is my only chance," I said, "then I am going to take it. People who can not tolerate any risk do not slide."  
  
"Well, Colin, will we see you again?" asked Jewel.  
  
"I can't promise that."  
  
"I was lucky to have met you," said Quinn. "Even though you are not my brother, I finally mnade peace with his death."  
  
"I'm sure he's all right," I said.  
  
Then my watch counted down. Five. Four. three. Two. One.  
  
Then the Universe slipped out from under me.  
  
I found myself standing on some tiles. I saw a sink and some stalls. This must be a restroom.  
  
Suddenly, the door opened and someone came in. I saw she was a woman. she was surprised to see a man inside.  
  
"I think you have the wrong restroom," she said.  
  
"No wonder there were no urinals here," I replied. One thing I learned from sliding is that I had to take things like this in stride.  
  
I left the ladies' room. I walked out to what appeared to be a baer. there were neon signs advertising Budweiser and Miller and Corona. None of the patrons noticved I had just emerged from the women's restroom.  
  
I sat down and looked at the TV. I saw it was on CNN; there was a caption stating that the news was being broadcast from the Ambassadiot Hotel. The reporter said that President Williams is goiung to make a statement.  
  
Then I saw President Williams on the TV-a duplicate of the President Williams on the previous Earth.  
  
"I did not have homicidal relations with that woman, Maggie Beckett," he said.  
  
I wonder that this world's version of Maggie has to do with the President of the United States.  
  
Then I saw Maggie Beckett. She claimed that the whole affair was a hoax, and that some woman who worked in the hotel was murdered to keep it quiet. the reporters asked all sorts of questions.  
  
The camera then changed its angle, and I saw a wormhole. I saw Maggie jump into the wormhole, along with three other people I could not clearly identify.  
  
"My Lord," I whispered. That was Maggie, the person whom I was sliding with for over one year. She was still alive. And I just missed her. 


End file.
